Shiny Pokemon attract the hearts of PokeCollectors everywhere! These rare variants of Pokemon are known for their low spawn rate, and unique colorful design (versus their original design). You’ll want to catch ‘em all!
Knowing is half the battle in shiny hunting. Identifying the design of the shiny Pokemon and understanding whether you're going for the pre-evolution or final form– is crucial on your journey.
In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the base odds of encountering a Shiny Pokemon, with no other factors, is 1 out of 4096. Using no additional items in shiny hunting takes a ton of time for the average player, but with other factors like completing the Pokedex or using certain sandwiches, you can cut time significantly in your hunt.
In shiny hunting, teaching your Pokemon the move False Swipe will save you the hassle of having to save and reload every time the shiny dies in battle.
Here are the top methods on Shiny Hunting and two alternative methods for farming them!!!
In the Wild
Multiply my minions!!!
It may seem like an obvious method, but it shouldn’t be overlooked by the various other interesting methods. Catching them in the wild is probably one of the easiest ways to catch a Pokemon, but their shiny encounter rate might make this method a tiny bit more tedious.
- Start off by making a picnic with your coordinating sandwich (for this method, you don’t need to have Herba Mysticas).
- Go to the Pokemon’s habitat.
- Save your game (in case you don’t get the shiny on the first try)
- Battle opponents until you’ve cleared the area.
- Leave the area and re-enter it to find a bunch of Pokemon.
- If you do not get the shiny within the 30 minute timeframe of its powers, then reload your game and try, try again…
Regular Sandwich Strengths
- You can make Catching, Encounter, Item Drop, Exp. Point, Humungo, Teensy and Raid power sandwiches.
- The variety of regular sandwiches helps exponentially on your journey to catch 'em all, (Normal and Shiny alike).
- There are Lv 1, Lv 2 and Lv 3 sandwiches for higher power rates!!!
- If you don’t have the ingredients for a certain sandwich or don’t have the recipe card for it, you can choose Creative mode to make a unique sandwich with your desired effects!
The best way to increase your chances of catching a shiny using this method would be to keep an eye out for the spawn symbols on your map. See if there are any wild spawns in your designated area and keep defeating the Pokemon you are trying to catch until you get your shiny!
Shiny hunting using this method may be a bit tricky, but it is loads better than having to rely on a mass outbreak to form.
Note that it will also work on the Paradox Pokemon (like Flutter Mane); you just have to make the sandwich at Area Zero’s gates before you hunt them down below.
Mass Outbreaks
Its battle cries can be heard throughout Pokenation!!!
Mass outbreaks are probably one of the best ways to hunt for shinies. The first thing you want to do is:
- Find and identify the shiny Pokemon you want to catch
- Travel to the area of the Mass Outbreak
- Save the game
- Defeat 60 of the Pokemon you want in shiny form
- Save the game again
- If you have Herba Mystica and can make that sandwich, you’ll want to do that.
- Run in and out of the area to spawn and respawn.
- If you haven’t gotten your shiny by the allotted sandwich time, reload the game and start over!
Effectiveness:
- This increases your chances by 1 in 1365 after defeating 60+ Pokemon
- With a level Power 1 sandwich, have the Shiny Charm, and defeated/captured 60+ Pokemon, your odds at getting a shiny are 1 in 683.
Catching Shiny Pokemon through sandwiches and mass outbreaks greatly increase your chances of getting a shiny Pokemon quickly. The time you save from this method could be spent on other tasks like completing BP or completing the Pokedexes.
Throughout playing, it's best to pay close attention to and remember the different areas that the shiny Pokemon you want appear in. This makes it easier to recollect down the road where you want to fast-travel to in order to make your sandwich, rather than taking the time to search through your Pokedex for the Pokemon’s habitat.
By Breeding Using the Masada Method
The satisfaction from hatching another Pokemon into the world...
Breeding is probably one of the most guaranteed methods of getting your shiny. There are a couple ways of improving your odds, but just note that Legendaries (like Munkidori, Ogerpon and Fezandipiti) are shiny locked.
With this method, the odds of getting a shiny become 1/683. If you have the Shiny charm and use this method, the chances become 1/512.
Effectiveness:
- Breed with a foreign ditto (not in your country).
This method will allow for a more focused search for the Pokemon of your desire. Lastly, you’ll want to:
- Start a picnic and make a sandwich that has the egg power meal effect.
- Every few minutes check on the picnic basket for eggs until you've reached your desired amount.
- Once you are ready to embark on your journey, put a Pokemon on your team that has the ability, Flame Body. Flame Body is an ability that speeds up hatching eggs, requiring less time and steps! This will make breeding go by extremely fast and you won’t feel like time is moving too slowly.
This is one of the best methods when choosing to breed. The Masada Method makes it so much easier to increase the time of the eggs that appear in the basket as well as produce eggs of the single Pokemon you desire.
Completing the Pokedex
OOO it’s sooo sparkly!!!
By completing the Pokedex you get the shiny charm and drastically increase your chances of seeing a shiny out in the wild. This is one of the very first things you can do to increase your shiny chances and avoid the hassle of having to hunt without the increased odds.
Effectiveness:
- With the Shiny charm, the odds of finding a shiny Pokemon becomes 1/1365 compared to shiny rates of 1/4096 without having completed the Pokedex.
Completing the Pokedex and obtaining the Shiny Charm should be a first on any shiny hunters list. Without obtaining the Shiny Charm, the odds of catching a shiny Pokemon are few and far between.
Shiny Sandwiches
When you get hangry on your hunt– make a sandwich….
Shiny sandwiches are just another way of making your shiny hunt that much easier! If you have completed the Pokedex, making shiny sandwiches will tremendously boost your chances of encounter.
With a level 3 shiny sandwich, your odds of getting a shiny are 1/1024. If you have the Shiny Charm, use a Power 3 sparkling sandwich and defeat 60 Pokemon, the rate is 1/512.
These sandwiches require Herba Mystica and various other ingredients throughout the regions, so finding all that is required– is a time-consuming feat.
Effectiveness:
- Battle your way through raids to find the exact Herba Mystica you need as it is a key ingredient! Defeat 5 and 6 star raids across the region to farm Herba Mystica.
- You can make shiny sandwiches for a variety of different types of Pokemon.
Shiny sandwiches help improve encounter rates immensely for your desired type of shiny Pokemon.
When All Else Fails: Save and Reload
Paradox Pokemon UNITE!!!
When you have tried catching the desired Pokemon, but other methods haven’t worked: Save and Reload. For competitive players out there, it can be hard to walk away from a good hunt, but it may be necessary if it’s taking longer than usual to capture the shiny.
- Go to the area where the Pokemon spawn, save your game, make the sandwich corresponding to the Pokemon you want to catch, leave the Picnic and save and reload your game!
- Then you can search the designated area of your catch and if you’re lucky there may be a mass outbreak of the Pokemon you were trying to catch in that area. Refer above to number 2, and keep battling until you get your Pokemon!!!
Effectiveness:
Almost every player out there knows the pure dread of accidentally killing a shiny Pokemon and not knowing whether it will respawn again. By saving your game before your hunt or when you see your desired Pokemon, you can save yourself loads of stress when something occurs like the Pokemon dying.
Saving and reloading is the best method to always keep in the back of your mind. It will save you a ton of time, stress and ingredients!
Two Optional, but Very Effective Ways to Farm
Oooo, SHINY
If you’re an avid shiny hunter, then you know the struggles of long hours trying to breed or catch the desired Pokemon and the amount of ingredients you may waste making sandwiches. But with the Surprise Trade feature (having an active Nintendo account and available via the PokePortal), you can skip the long wait time and farm a ton of shinies!!!
Alternatively… you can purchase the Academy Special meal from the Cafeteria in Blueberry Academy, and for the next 30 minutes your chances of seeing a shiny in the wild are increased!
Shiny Pokemon were first introduced in the second generation of Pokemon and have only gotten better over the years. In Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, the Shiny Charm can be obtained to increase the odds. In Pokemon Sword and Shield, you can catch two variations of shiny Pokemon: ones that sparkle stars and one that sparkles squares.
The variations and catchability of shinies make hunting them so much more enticing. And catching them in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has become easier than ever with rates far better than Pokemon games of older generations (with the old shiny hunting rate being 1 in 8192).
With all the best tips and tricks to catch a shiny, your odds will forever be in your favor!
Let us know what you think in the comments. Is there a shiny method we haven’t listed above? What do you think is the best method for shiny hunting? Also, who is your favorite shiny Pokemon?
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